Brands Are Lining Up for the Chance to Help Americans Cook Thanksgiving Dinner

According to recent polling from Pew and Harris, 91% of Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, and six in 10 plan to cook it themselves. Using a little back-of-the-envelope math means nearly 183 million people will be feeling the heat in the kitchen this week. But where home cooks see hot ovens and stress, savvy brands know a marketing opportunity. This year, major food companies, including Nestle, Ocean Spray, Campbell’s, and Butterball, will open their phones—and often their emails, texts, and social channels—promising to help kitchen warriors who find themselves in trouble. Or just in need of a tip. “We’ve got your back when you’re making the... turkey that your family loves this Thanksgiving,” promises the homepage of aluminum-foil giant Reynolds. Home cooks can email or call a pro at (800) 433-2244 all the way up to 4:00 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. “Your bread fell flat. Your cookies crumbled. Who do you turn to?” intones the baking experts at King Arthur Flour. Fear not, intrepid cook: King Arthur’s 13-strong round table of bakers including Barb, Bethany, David, and Tess—their photos are all on the website—can be reached at (855) 371-2253 until 7:00 p.m. EST Wednesday. Ocean Spray has a staff of “cran-conoisseurs” standing by to help with “all things cranberry,” a spokesperson told ADWEEK. “We have answers to common cranberry and cranberry sauce-related questions like, ‘why do I open canned cranberry sauce upside down?’ and ‘how long can I store fresh cranberries?’” The solutions await anyone who texts “Holiday” to (508) 691-7736. For its part, Nestle Toll House operates a baking information line—(800) 851-0512—and will also help out via email. The Nestle Baking 101 page features responses to questions commonly asked this week, including: “Is it okay to eat raw baking batter or cookie dough?” (Answer: no, it’s not.) It's nice to know there are brands that care, of course—but seeing as all this help is free, there’s obviously a payoff for corporate, too. “Brands see Thanksgiving as a moment of sacred consumption for their products and want to create a moment of trust and engagement,” said retail analyst and advisor Bruce Winder. “As a source of expertise in a moment of need, brands can improve their perception as being an authority for consumers," he said. "If you look at the relatively low cost to provide this service versus the potential benefit and goodwill it could provide to brands, one can see how the payback could be there.” And it evidently is, given the resources that brands commit to some of these lines. The reps at King Arthur are practitioners with culinary and baking degrees (one holds a diplôme from Paris’ Le Cordon Bleu) and who’ve kneaded their way through professional kitchens. A friendly rep a Campbell’s helpline (800) 257-8443 picks up almost right away (and will until Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. EST.) But when it comes to true poultry pros, few brands have stood ready to help longer than Butterball, whose Turkey Talk-Line started as six women answering the phones in 1981 and has since blossomed into a veritable turkey nerve center staffed by over 50 experts who must graduate from Butterball University before the brand deems them qualified to help the public. In addition to the toll-free number (1-800-BUTTERBALL), talk line staff also respond through text, live chat, and social channels. Michael Maddox, who’s manned the talk line for the last 12 years, told ADWEEK that while millennial and Gen-Z cooks tend to opt for digital communication, “other age groups enjoy talking live on the phone." A good many are looking for "emotional support" along with the cooking tips. Maddox related that the most common fears he allays concern roasting methods and what to do with leftovers, though it seems like cooks get the jitters well before that stage. “Our most common question is when and how to thaw your turkey,” he said.

Branding

Brands Are Lining Up for the Chance to Help Americans Cook Thanksgiving Dinner—Here's Why

There's nothing like a high-pressure holiday to make a good impression

Create Your Free Account

Registration Includes:

Robert Klara

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications